Alden x Blackbird Blacksheep Squadron Airman Shoe

New England’s fine shoemaker Alden and Seattle based retailer Blackbird have worked together over the past year on numerous exclusive collaborations. A milkman boot, work boot and a wingtip have all seen their ways to the shelves of Blackbird, news now comes of a fourth project between the 2 parties.

“The Blacksheep Squadron Airman Shoe was inspired by the simple black dress shoes of standard military dress. The name itself comes from Baa Baa Blacksheep, a TV series that aired on NBC from 1976 to 1978. As a child born on Pearl Harbor day, our owner, Nicole, loved to watch the show with her father, and marked every birthday with WWII film marathons. A lifelong devotee of Army Navy surplus store shopping, it was a natural choice for Nicole, when it came time to design our Alden collaboration models, to reference the military look and feel she had grown up appreciating.

With a sleek upper cut largely out of one piece of smooth, high quality calfskin, these basic lace-ups cover a lot of looks and look good doing it. Buffed and polished to an Army Air Corps shine, they’re an excellent all around dress shoe perfect for classic dark suiting and low lights. Worn with sheer socks, oversized rolled trousers, and a dark, high gauge knit, they become completely modern and even avante garde in their minimalism. We like them somewhere in between – wear yours with lightly dressed up basics and take to the town like a serviceman on weekend leave.”